SINGAPORE – The next time you and your kids go to a bookstore, check out the books by home-grown authors and illustrators. Then, buy some home and bond over them.
From time to time, the local creatives come together with publishers and various organisations, such as the National Arts Council, to inspire more readers to pick up Singapore literature.
The latest initiative is the inaugural Singapore Children’s Book Festival from June 21 to 23.
Over the weekend, there were storytelling sessions by authors, arts workshops inspired by their books, a gallery showcasing illustrations and a book fair.
It was co-organised by the Singapore Book Publishers Association and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa), University of the Arts Singapore.
The festival aims to encourage children to develop a lifelong passion for reading and storytelling through their engagement with local children’s literature, says Singapore Book Publishers Association president Edmund Wee, 72. He is also the founder of publisher Epigram Books.
He says: “Parents and educators in Singapore are increasingly cognisant of the need to buy and read local stories to their children and pupils.
“Yet, they remain largely ignorant of what is being published because children’s books get so little media coverage, in part due to their non-literary status.
“Even more alarming is the unawareness among the public of the growing number of small publishers producing such good books.”
Why is he championing local literature for kids?
“It is important for children to read stories that reflect them, their experiences and their background. It allows them to feel seen and represented, and fosters a love for Singapore as a vibrant home,” he says.
Echoing his sentiments are authors including Daryl Kho, author of children’s fantasy novel Mist-Bound: How To Glue Back Grandpa (2021). He says: “During my childhood, my shelf was largely occupied by titles from English authors. There were hardly any local options.
“I grew up wondering why I never had crumpets for tea, but instead, ang ku kueh and curry puffs with kopi.”
The Singapore Children’s Book Festival is a much-needed initiative to showcase the “many amazing books” that the country has to offer now.
“A Singaporean parent, hunting for the next read for his kid, will likely head only to a bookstore’s main children’s section,” the 45-year-old says, adding that it is mostly stocked with international bestsellers.
“Where are the books from Singapore and South-east Asia? Oh, they’re placed in a shelf at the back, under Asian stories.”
It is essential to introduce kids to a balance of local and foreign titles. Kho cites American children’s literature scholar Dr Rudine Sims Bishop, who shared how books serve as “windows” and “mirrors”.
With “window” books, readers put their feet in others’ shoes and live in their world. Such books help build understanding and perspective.
“Mirror” books, on the other hand, reflect the readers’ context and environment. They develop self-awareness.
If kids spend too much time looking in “mirrors”, they risk becoming self-obsessed and close-minded. But keep looking outside the “windows”, and they risk wanting to always be somewhere else.
